Wish to Fly Free
by FreedomFlying
Summary: All Charlie wants is to be free, but someone is always chasing her just because she's a little different. She has wings. After being caught by the F.B.I. she befriends an agent and he turns her towards a different life.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1 -**

Charlie wanted to just stop and lay down. She was so tired. But they had dogs searching for her so she had to keep going. She heard them baying only a few streets away. She felt her heart flutter in her chest. Stupid FBI. They didn't even have a good reason to come after her. She hadn't done anything wrong. No crime had been committed. The only reason they were after her was because of supposedly mysterious circumstances. Because she had been around a stupid government facility. How was she supposed to know that the abandoned-looking building had been a secret facility that was housing who-knows-what?

Well now she had been running for a couple days and had managed to shake them. But that convenience store's camera had caught her on tape when she'd stopped for food and somehow they had found her image. But Charlie didn't see why they had to send federal officers after her just for wandering around government property. She hadn't gone inside or seen anything suspicious.

She was currently in some nice suburban community with old homes that were all different but somehow still looked good together. Charlie looked around at the charming homes around her and wished, not for the first time, that she had been raised in a nice home. Instead she had been raised in the middle of nowhere in some private laboratory where she was raised by crackpot scientists who used her in their crazy experiments. They even got paid to do it because they claimed they were fostering orphaned kids who had nowhere else to go. Same old sad story of the orphan. Whenever a kid went missing, people just assumed they had run away. But Charlie knew what had really happened. The other kids had died from the experiments. The scientists never told the kids anything, why they did this or even what to call them. In the bedroom, which they called the Cage, the kids were trapped at nigh to try to deal with the effects of today's injections and tests.

There were only two of experiments left the day of the fire. The only person other than Charlie was a girl who was dying from some random side effects of a supposed cure to some disease. She knew that she was dying so she told Charlie to make a run for it while she dealt with the scientists.

That night I ran. From the woods surrounding the labs, I could see the smoke rising above the trees and the air was suffocating. I was forced to move on, but guilt gnawed at my stomach. Charlie knew that along with the scum bags who had tortured all the kids, Charlie's only friend in the world was dead.

Charlie just kept going. She had been on her own for a couple of months, scrounging a life on the streets before she had stumbled onto the facility.

The police who were chasing her were from the area; local police who had been recruited to come after her. But there were two federal agents who had followed her from the beginning. They were a brains and brawn pair. The one was lanky and looked as though he had graduated from college at the ripe old age of 20. He was always the one whispering the possibilities and facts into his partner's ear. The partner was muscular and tan. His clothes bulged from different weapons. The pair somehow always managed to find her. How could a girl who didn't exist until she was 15 manage to become a fugitive in less than a year?

The dog howls shook her from the thoughts and she continued trudging up the hill, away from the agents.

Charlie debated making a quick fly away, but she knew that if she did they would never stop hunting her. She had a secret that the scientists had tried to turn into a weapon. She was their only successful project they ever had, and it had happened by accident back when she was very young. The two evil geniuses had accidently injected her with a serum meant for a lab bird. The result was amazing but unrepeatable. It shouldn't have ever been possible, genetic mutation of this scale wasn't possible. The bird's DNA had somehow attached itself to her own. The result was a full-sized pair of wings that grew out of her shoulders, the bird bones connected to the human bones and they fused into a hybrid's body. When the bones had first been growing, it had been agony. They wings sprouted from her back and forced themselves out and eventually grew feathers. Her bones had lightened and thinned and she had lost all excess weight; her appearance changed and become more bird-like. And now she was on the run from the feds, who would probably throw her back into a lab if they ever caught her. Which was why Charlie was determined to get away.

She reached a park and playground with kids running around. There were so many it had to be some sort of program. Charlie headed towards the group and immersed herself in the throng of children. It was the perfect camouflage.

She adjusted her jacket to make sure it covered her wings and joined the game of capture the flag. She pretended to be a guard for one team, but was watching for the police to pass by so that she could run the other way.  
The police didn't pass by though, they entered the playground led by the young smart-looking agent. Stupid genius probably saw the odds of her going to the park or something. Agent Numero Uno approached the adults in charge and spoke to them while Numero Dos scanned the children. Charlie knew who he was looking for. She ran after a boy infringing on her team's territory to avoid suspicion.

A whistle blew and all the children froze and turned toward the woman in charge.

"Kids!" she called, "We're going to need you all to come here for a couple minutes. After short talk with Agents Corvy and Holland you can go home. But the game is over for tonight."

The children all converged on the adults, and Charlie knew she had to get away. Both agents and a couple police officers were already scanning the children and quickly sending them home. Charlie slid away from the crowd and onto the playground.

Climbing swiftly onto the equipment, Charlie crawled to the tube slide and hid inside. When all the children had gone home and the chaperones had followed them, they brought the dogs out again.

"No, no, no, no!" Charlie gasped frantically. Those mutts would easily pick up her scent and follow it straight to her. She took the little chance she had and launched herself down the slide, into a sprint away from the officers.

The dogs saw a moving target and went crazy. Their handler kept them on the leashes and followed them as the other officers and agents took off after her.

Charlie pumped her arms and pushed herself as hard as she could, but the full grown adults with physical requirements for their jobs were quickly gaining on her. She was aiming for a small patch of woods that skirted the park.

"Stop running and his will all go easy for you!" yelled Numero Dos who was the fastest and was closest to Charlie.

Before dashing into the woods, Charlie yelled back, "I don't even know why you're after me!" Once in the cover of the trees, Charlie quickly found a sturdy tree and climbed into a sturdy tree. She knew the dogs would track her but she couldn't just give herself up and running was pointless.

The agent with all the weapons slowly came into her sight. He was looking at the forest floor, following something. Footprints in the dirt. They disappeared at Charlie's tree. He came to a stop at the base as the others caught up.

"Liam," he called to his partner, "I think she's hiding up in the trees."

The younger agent came up and studied the tracks as the dogs followed and were engrossed in her scent as it rose from the base to the trunk.

"Kid, come down. We know you're up there." an officer called up to her. Charlie didn't move but she could feel the two agents watching for any hint of movement. The agents felt like Charlie's personal enemies; people who made her already horrible life even worse. She began to silently move towards the branches of the tree next to hers, making sure to not move the branches.

Suddenly what looked like a tranquillizer dart pierced the branch below her. She froze and looked down to see the athletic agent pointing a gun at her. He wasn't going to kill her, just shoot her out of a tree.

"My name is Agent Corvy and this is Agent Holland," called the younger agent, gesturing to his partner, "There is nothing to be afraid of. We just need to ask you some questions." Really? That's the best they can do? Obviously they were going to at least arrest her. And if they found her wings, it wouldn't just be police custody.

Charlie slowly began to spread her wings and the slight motion caught agent Holland's eye. His aim shifted directly towards Charlie.

Charlie knew she could either get captured now and have those cretins down there find out she has wings later or she could try to fly away and have them know immediately. Another dart embedded itself directly next to Charlie's face. She grabbed it and yanked it out of the wood. Definitely tranquilizer. They were going to take her whether conscious or unconscious. She felt something sharp pierce her leg and pulled out a dart. "Oh crap." she whimpered.

Charlie tried to launch herself off the branch, her wings outstretched and catching the wind. But the tranquilizer took effect and her vision went fuzzy. Her wings couldn't keep her in the air and she lost altitude. Charlie crashed through the branches and dropped heavily to the ground. Agent Corvy knelt next to her and checked her pulse as everything faded to black. "She's okay," he told Holland.

The last thing she heard was "What the hell is she?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 –**

Carlie woke up handcuffed to a bed. They had apparently moved her to some kind of prison while she had been unconscious, so it had to be close by because the drug couldn't have lasted too long. Unless they kept her sedated. So she could actually be pretty much anywhere. Great. She sat up and looked around the small room she was in.

The walls were off-white and bare. There were no windows and only one door. The door had no doorknob and was most likely locked. Not that she could check because she was chained to a bed. There was no other furniture and nothing to do. Great. She was stuck in another prison only four months after escaping the first one.

Charlie flopped back on the pillow and took a deep breath. She looked back at the handcuff on her wrist and reached back with her other hand to try to unlock it. It was on a pretty flimsy bar so she grabbed the cuff's chain and pulled. The bar loosened. After a couple more hard tugs, she managed to pull the bar off the bed. She slid the cuff off the bar and stood up. The cuff was still on her wrist but she could always use it as an impromptu weapon. After a second thought she also picked up the metal bar.

Walking across the room, Charlie came to the door. She propped the bar into the crack by the hinges and pushed, trying to break a hinge. The hinge didn't move but suddenly the door opened towards her.

She dropped the bar behind the door and rushed to the far wall from the door. Charlie raised her arm, prepared to swing the metal handcuff. Agent Holland entered but was cautious. He lifted his hands in a defensive pose.

"It's okay. We only cuffed you because we didn't want you to hurt yourself." he reassure her. His partner followed him, closing the door behind them. It snapped shut with a click. Then they both slowly approached her.

Charlie didn't believed them and remained ready to attack. Agent Corvy looked at the bed and walked behind the door to grab the metal bar. He grabbed it and silently showed it to Holland. Holland narrowed his eyes at it, then looked back to Charlie.

"Were you gonna beat the first person who walked into this room?" Holland demanded, "For all you know it could have been another kid or something."

Charlie glared at him. "I didn't do anything to deserve being held here, so I figured it was my right to leave," she hissed at him, "I was wandering around private property, that doesn't demand a state-wide manhunt for a girl who's been off the grid her whole life!"

"That's one of the things that we were trying to figure out," Corvy said, "According to national records, you don't exist."

"That may or may not be because some freakin' evil scientists kept me captive my whole life, hence the not on the grid thing." Charlie said bitterly. There were so many bad memories associated with captivity. During this explanation, Charlie lowered her hands and stood up straight, abandoning her defensive stance. "You have no idea what kind of hell I have lived in for my whole miserable life."

"No, we can't. And we also don't know what they could have done to you for you to… be the way you are." Corvy went on. While he told her this, Holland unlocked the cuffs and put them on his belt loop.

"What? You mean these?" she asked as she flared her wings. They were fourteen feet wide when fully spread and filled the small cell. Charlie looked like she was on the verge of crying. Her wings flapped nervously and created a breeze in the small room.

Both of the agents stared dumbfounded at the glorious sight in front of the. This girl looked like an angel as she extended her wings.

"Can you actually fly?" Cory asked quietly.

"Of course I can. I would have showed you but someone kinda shot me out of the sky." She threw a pointed look at Holland who raised his hands defensively. "That hurt. A lot. You should try falling from 25 feet sometimes. It's great."

"You were trying to get away," protested Holland. "We couldn't just let you escape. And I was acting on instinct and surprise from seeing a kid sprout wings like an angel and take off."

"I ran because I was being chased. For no good reason, I might add," she shot back, "And, if I looked like an angel, why would you shoot me?"

"Calm down," Corvy interceded, "You had broken into a government facility and we needed to make sure you didn't see anything. You would have just been questioned. But now that we have seen how… special you are, we need to keep you in custody for your own safety."

"That's BS. You're gonna keep me locked in here and studied. Which is what I ran away from in the first place." She sat down on the bed and angrily looked away from the agents.

"That's another thing. Where are you from?" Corvy asked. His voice was flecked with curiosity as he sat down next to her. Charlie moved away from him but his gaze followed her. Holland just watched Charlie from across the room, expecting an attack at some point.

When Charlie didn't answer, Corvy asked, "Do you want to go on a walk? Or a flight? We have a large gymnasium where you could fly around."

"Great. Another opportunity to be studied," she muttered, "But I could use a stretch. On one condition," she held up her index finger as she sternly said, "Only you two in there with me. I don't want an audience."

"Fine," Holland and Corvy said at the same time, one more nicely than the other.

They unlocked the door and Corvy led the way followed by Charlie who was watched by Holland. They walked out of the section with a number of doors that looked like the one to Charlie's room. Yay. They were in the detention block. They moved on to a bunch of offices, then past some rooms with exercise equipment and eventually to a huge gym. Not as good as wide open sky, but better than nothing As soon as they entered, the doors locked behind them.

Charlie shook her wings out and stretched them, testing them by flapping before she actually flew. Despite the torturous ways in which she came to possess her wings, Charlie was extremely proud of them. Those demented scientists had tried to give her pure black wings for better night camouflage, but she had unconsciously defied them. Her wings were beautifully multi-colored. The outside of the wings were mostly mottled brown with white splotches and streaks. The big primary feathers on the inside were white at the tips and cream at their bases. The closer to her shoulders, the darker the feathers ranging from beige to chocolate. After a moment of admiration. She sprinted to the middle of the gym and jumped into the air. Pushing down her wings, she rose up towards the ceiling. Once she got high enough into the air she dove through the air and flew in difficult maneuvers that she had mastered in the past few months. This was the one thing she could do that let her feel any semblance of freedom. Charlie hovered in the air for a couple seconds, looking down at the two agents below her. They were both looking up at her with amazement. She folded her wings and fell downward. She heard an intake of breath. They thought she would kill herself. Nah. She was too selfish for that. She flared her wings and pulled up at the last second, just in time to come to a running stop and buffet the agents with her tailwind. Before they could say anything, she ran past them, jumped on their shoulders, and pushed herself back into the air. They collapsed but continued staring after the flying girl.

Charlie flew freely for about an hour before finally deciding she'd had enough of being a spectacle for two F.B.I. agents. She descended slowly and hovered for a second before dropping in front of the agents and laughed ruefully. "Having fun watching the freak?" she asked, but for once she was light hearted. Not many things could dampen her mood after a free flight. They both stared at her openmouthed. She laughed again, waving her wings in a small motion as she did. They were warm from use and felt amazing when she folded them against her back.

"I don't think you know how lucky you are, kid." Holland commented. Corvy was too dumbfounded to say anything, probably a first in his smart little life.

Charlie looked at him sadly. "I know what I have is a gift. I just wish I didn't need to go through hell to get it." Holland looked taken aback and started to apologize, but Charlie intercepted him before he could. "It's fine, Holland. I've accepted it. It's just a sore spot that's all."

"How do you know my name?" Holland asked while Corvy simultaneously asked, "Do you know my name?"

"You're name is Corvy," she said pointing at the professor-looking agent, "And I know because I listened during my manhunt."

"Well, we don't know your name. What is it?" asked Corvy.

Charlie considered giving a fake name, but decided against it. She liked her name. Chose it for herself. They hadn't given her a name at the lab, so she gave herself one.

"I'm Charlie" she told them.

"Charlie?" Holland asked, "Why?"

"Because it means free, right?" answered Corvy. Charlie looked at him in surprise. "Well, it's kind of obvious. Charlotte means 'free.' Charlie is short for Charlotte."

"Yeah. Didn't think it was that obvious though. I found it online shortly after I got away from the lab where I was raised. Though it suited me. But I didn't like how feministic it sounded, so I chose a nickname. Not like there's ever been anyone to call me by it though."

Corvy just smiled and held out his hand, "It's nice to meet you, Charlie. I'm Liam Corvy." Charlie looked at him with a 'Really? Is this necessary?' kind of look, but when he didn't drop his hand she took it with a sigh.

"Hi, I'm Charlie." She said with a voice an adult talks to a toddler with. Liam ignored her tone and turned to his partner. Holland sighed with exaggerated patience but eventually reached to shake Charlie's hand.

"I'm Holland. Derek Holland." He told her. Charlie immediately thought of a James Bond movie but decided not to voice her comment aloud.

"Nice to officially meet you both. Since apparently having you follow me across a couple states, drug me, and spirit e off to who-knows-where doesn't actually count as official." Charlie smiled at them. "Warning, Holland. I will attempt to get you back for shooting me with what I think was a moose tranquilizer."

"We were told to bring you in unharmed. Tasers hurt and tranquilizers don't hurt as much and they keep you under for longer." Holland defended himself.

"A dart to the leg still hurts, Derek. Just a little F.Y.I." she patted his back as she walked by.

"Where are you going?" demanded Holland. She was being a brat and he was not going to put up with it. "You're still a prisoner here." Corvy shot him a dirty look that Holland decided to ignore.

"Well. Derek," she began in a falsely patient voice, "I need a shower after that workout, maybe some fresh clothes, and definitely a good meal. So I was leading you this way in a hope of you taking me somewhere where all of those things could happen. Or am I deprived of those rights?"

Corvy followed her and let her out with a fuming Holland taking up the rear.


End file.
